Who will rule the national capital: BJP or AAP?
New Delhi: As vote counting nears its end for the Delhi assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to make the government in the national capital after 27 years, defeating the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from securing a fourth term. The Congress drew a blank once again with zero seats in its kitty.
Based on the Election Commission, the BJP has won in 41 assembly seats while the AAP has won 20 seats.
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In a dramatic setback to the AAP, former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lost against rival BJP candidate Parvesh Verma with a margin of 4,089 votes. Senior leader Manish Sisodia also faced defeat in Jangpura with a slender margin of 675 votes against BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah, who secured 38,859 votes.
But Delhi Chief Minister Atishi won with a margin of 3,521 votes, defeating BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri.
The last time Congress opened its account in Delhi was in the 2013 assembly elections when it won eight seats. The party had secured a vote share of 24.55 percent, while the BJP got a 33.07 percent vote share and the AAP 29.49 percent.
Exit polls predicted the BJP will have an edge over the AAP, which had been ruling Delhi since 2015. The party, however, rejected the exit polls and put its faith in forming the government for the third time. However, former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal conceded defeat and said, “We accept the mandate of the people with great humility. I congratulate the BJP for this victory, and I hope they will fulfil all the promises for which people have voted for them.”
The AAP has failed to repeat its magic with prominent leaders such as Manish Sisodia and Somnath Bharti losing their respective seats. The sweeping victory that the party achieved in the last two elections failed to replicate this time.
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Kejriwal assured that his party would remain active in Delhi’s political landscape, taking on the role of constructive opposition while continuing to serve the people. “We have done a lot of work in the field of health, education, infrastructure in the last 10 years. We will not only play the role of a constructive opposition but will also remain among the people and continue to serve them,” he said in a video message.
In the 2020 Assembly polls, AAP secured a massive victory, winning 62 out of 70 seats, while BJP won 8 seats. The Congress failed to secure any seats in the election.
